Those Utahns who plan to vote in the 2014 midterm elections are very enthusiastic to hit the polls come November.
The newest UtahPolicy.com poll conducted by Dan Jones and Associates finds 80% of likely voters are either "very" or "somewhat enthusiastic" to vote in this election. Just 18% say they're not excited about casting a ballot.
Broken down by partisan leanings, we find 81% of Republicans, 78% of Democrats and 81% of independent voters say they're enthusiastic about voting. Republicans have a built in advantage here simply because there are more of them in Utah. Democrats will have to win those likely voters who are politically independent to win.
When we drill down to political ideology, we find the hyper-partisans on both sides are more excited about voting than those in the middle.
85% of likely voters who say they are "very conservative," and 83% of those who are "very liberal" say they're enthusiastic about voting. 82% of "somewhat conservative" voters say they're looking forward to voting in November.
Just 72% of "somewhat liberal" voters and 71% of political moderates express enthusiasm about voting. This should set off some alarm bells among Democrats who are hoping to boost turnout for this election.
When we dissect the numbers by age group, we find elderly voters are positively giddy about voting in 2014. 55% say they are "very enthusiastic" about 2014, and another 39% say they're "somewhat enthusiastic." That's a stunning 94%. The only age group that comes close are younger voters (18-24).
The survey was conducted September 23-25 among 403 likely voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.88%.
